Stoakes’ Song of the Week
Today, Saturday 20th July, 2019 is the fiftieth anniversary of the Moon Landings. Now whether or not you believe we landed on the moon is irrelevant, it is simply an excuse for me to investigate and listen to some moon and space related songs to bring you yet another Stoakes’ Song of the Week.
And what intergalactic delights do I have in store for you this week? As you know, I am not a fan of the obvious, so David Bowie was out, as was anything from the Dark Side of the Moon and the Waterboys Whole of the Moon was a definite no! So how about this, Deep Purple (No, not Highway Star – too obvious) But their track, Space Truckin’
The seventh and final track from the Deep Purple album ‘Machine Head’. The album was recorded in December 1971, in Montreux, Switzerland and released in 1972. It is often cited as an early influence of British Heavy Metal and commercially, the album is Deep Purple’s most successful, having topped the charts in several countries following its release. The album reached number 1 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the top 40 for 20 weeks.
When Space Truckin’ was ever performed live, it would usually come at the end of Deep Purple’s main set, with live versions often passing the 20 minute mark. On the remastered version of their 1982 album Live in London there is a 31-minute-long live version of the song. It consists of a lot of improvising from the band members and in one part of the song they play the main riff from ‘Child in Time’.
Space Truckin’ has also been covered by a lot of bands including Iron Maiden on their ‘Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple’s Machine Head’, released in 2012 as part of the 40 year anniversary. Other bands that have covered the song include Dream Theater, Overkill and Tesla. Actor William Shatner has also recorded a version of the song for his 2011 album ‘Seeking Major Tom.
So I guess you could say Space Truckin, given its influence to heavy metal bands of the future, plus all the covers, is one small step for music…. One giant leap for music kind!!!
